People's Welfare Front
People's Welfare Front (PWF) was a Tamil-Nadu political alliance formed in October 2015. It consisted of four political parties : Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-(M)). The alliance contested the 2016 Tamil Nadu and Puducherry legislative assembly elections as one unit.[1] The alliance rejected potential alliance with Indian National Congress, BJP, DMK or ADMK, while hopeful of enlisting and TMC (G.K.Vasan) and Puthiya Thamizhakam.[1]
People's Welfare Front  Political Alliance  | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | 
| Dissolved | 2016 | 
| Membership | 1)Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam 2)Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 3)Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi 4)Tamil Maanila Congress 5)Communist Party of India 6)Communist Party of India (Marxist)  | 
| Seats in Tamil Nadu | 0 / 234 
 | 
In early November the alliance led movements against price rise, atrocities against minorities and Dalits and efforts to curtail freedom of speech.[2] It has taken a strong position in favour of liquor prohibition in Tamil Nadu. Later it made an electoral alliance with DMDK[3] and Tamil Maanila Congress.[4]
Policies
    
The alliance consists of one Dravidian party (MDMK) and one Tamil party (VCK) and two leftist parties (CPI and CPI(M)). People's Welfare Front released a Common Minimum Program which all parties agreed to.[5] The major features of the program are as below.
- Oppose globalisation, liberalisation economic policies and stop the privatisation of state programmes and industries
 - Oppose Hindutva, religious extremism and religious prosecution
 - Oppose powers exploiting caste – work to pass stricter laws preventing violence and discrimination against Dalits
 - Oppose corruption – implement Lokayukta
 - Implement transparent government – information about laws and programs will be released online
 - Increase funding and support for local governance units – implement Right to Public Services legislation in Tamil Nadu
 - Stop the stealing of minerals
 - Promote social justice – preserve 69% reservation, expand reservation in the private sector
 - Mother tongue development – make multilingual education ("first-language-first") mandatory
 - Promote folk arts – establish a university to develop folk arts
 - Work for increase powers and funding for states
 - Work to resolve river water issues
 - Support Sri Lankan Tamils in pursuit of justice and rights
 - Law and order – prevent police brutality
 - Protect democratic rights – fully protect freedom of expression
 - Prohibition – fully implement liquor prohibition in Tamil Nadu
 - Development of agriculture and villages – provide funding and infrastructure services for farmers
 - Land – protect arable land
 - Irrigation – maintain and modernise major irrigation systems
 - Homes and homelessness – provide homes for all without homes
 - Promote crafts and small businesses
 - Electricity – make Tamil Nadu self-sufficient in producing electricity
 - Labour rights – introduce minimum wage of ₹ 15,000 per month
 - Education – prevent privatisation of education and develop competitive public educational systems
 - Health – allocate 6% to health; create a multi-purpose public medical training facility in each district
 - Environment – implement stricter environmental standards
 - Employment – fill the two lakhs vacancies without corruption
 - Elimination of poverty – correctly identify people below poverty line (BPL) and deliver welfare services to them
 - Rural employment scheme – increase wages given under rural employment guarantee
 - City people – provide safe drinking water, develop underground sewage system
 - Women welfare – ensure that the state women commission works effectively and reports the results in the state assembly
 - Fishing communities welfare – stop multi-national companies (MNCs) from using sea resources; provide pensions to fishers
 - Minority rights – take strong actions against Hindutva religious violence and hate speech
 - Civil service and teachers – make part-time and shift workers permanent
 - Democratic reform – recommend proportional representation; work for 50% reservation for women in elected offices
 - Inflation – stop online and future trading activities
 - Public distribution – provide basic necessities including fruits and vegetables at subsidised prices
 - Science and Technology – build a central science and technology advanced research centre in southern Tamil Nadu
 - Sports – Make exercise mandatory for all levels until class 12
 - Transportation – Increase number of buses to reduce congestion
 - Road accidents – Separate traffic by building dividers
 
References
    
- "People's Welfare Front Formally Gets Political Stamp". The New Indian Express. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
 - "PWF Demo on Rising Prices, Intolerance". newindianexpress.com. The Indian Express. 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
 - "TN polls: Joining the Third Front". The Indian Express.
 - "Tamil Nadu polls 2016: Vasan-led TMC joins DMDK-PWF combine". dna.
 - "மக்கள் நலக் கூட்டு இயக்கம் குறைந்தபட்ச செயல்திட்டம் வரைவு அறிக்கை". mdmk.org.in. MDMK.org. 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.